MILWAUKEE - Twenty-six states reached a settlement with Publishers Clearing House on Tuesday in lawsuits that accused the sweepstakes company of deceptive mailings.

Under the agreement, Publishers Clearing House would have to pay $34 million in customer refunds, legal expenses and administrative costs to the 26 states, Wisconsin Attorney General James Doyle said in a statement.

The settlement would require the company to stop what the lawsuits said are false and deceptive tactics to sell products, Doyle said. As part of the agreement, the company agreed to no longer use statements like "guaranteed winner."

"This will in fact revolutionize the sweepstakes industry," said Jennifer Granholm, attorney general in Michigan, one of the other states that sued. "Today, it is Michigan consumers that are the winners."

In Wisconsin's suit, the state alleged Publishers Clearing House illegally targeted the elderly with its mass sweepstakes mailings urging people to buy magazines and other consumer goods. A bench trial was held in Wisconsin's lawsuit last November, the first time a suit against the company had gone to trial. But Columbia County Circuit Judge Richard Rehm had not yet issued a verdict.

The 26 states had opted not to join an $18 million settlement the company reached last year with the 24 other states and the District of Columbia over allegations it uses deceptive promotions.

In 1999, another company, American Family Enterprises, settled a group of lawsuits for $33 million. That company is known for the American Family Publishers sweepstakes plugged by Dick Clark and Ed McMahon.

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